Inked
by dashinginconverse
Summary: Nervous about getting her first tattoo, AJ decides to ask the advice of one of the WWE's most tattooed Superstars. PunkAJ, oneshot


_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own anything._

_**Summary: Nervous about getting her first tattoo, AJ decides to ask the advice of one of the WWE's most tattooed Superstars. PunkAJ, oneshot**_

_Um...yeah. So, I think I just might like this ship now. I don't know why, because I really didn't like it for the longest time, and now I really do. It's strange how things can change so quickly. Anyway, I hope that y'all enjoy this little fic of mine!_

* * *

**Inked**

* * *

With a large sigh, AJ shut the book.

No matter what she looked at, no matter what patterns or designs she saw that interested her, she just couldn't pick one.

And she was, like, one hundred and ten percent positive that it would hurt like hell.

But despite all of her reservations and indecisiveness, she was dead set on getting what she wanted.

A tattoo.

It was a ridiculous thing to be so apprehensive about. Though, many other people would not say the same thing.

She huffed out yet another too-large sigh and stared off into the distance. Her new role as GM of Raw made her unlikely to actually get in the ring anytime soon. So, really, if she was going to get a tattoo, now would be a perfect time to do so.

But, the question was, which one?

Rosa had provided her a book she had used to pick out her own tattoo, but the book held nothing of interest to AJ. Everything was either a girly flower or a skull with worms crawling out of it. Or something vulgar that was clearly meant for boys. Or, in another instance, an entire few pages full of things that looked like the were supposed to be the typical 'tramp stamp.'

The one that Kaitlyn got was the one that AJ liked the best - an intricate looking tattoo of a game controller. Not wanting to completely copy her friend, AJ was looking for something completely different. Something unique. Something...

Her thoughts trailed off as she bit down on her lip, uncertain and cringing internally for what she was going to put her body through. Though she had wanted a tattoo for the majority of her life, it was a rather permanent thing, and she didn't want to be like one of her high school friends who thought it was oh-so-cool to get a Smurf tattooed on their chest.

And as much as she liked the Smurfs in general, AJ could say that that was _not _the best of decisions.

She was starting to feel like she was getting no where. Everything she thought of seemed to be stupid. Flowers were too typical, hearts were dumb, stars were cool but clichéd.

Rising from her seated position, she figured that she was getting no where fast, but then a thought crossed her mind.

There were several people that could help her with this decision, really. Randy, Alex, as well as several others had various tattoos.

But there was one guy that came to the front of her mind. The most obvious choice to go to advice for a tattoo.

Her mind set, AJ walked out of her hotel room in search of CM Punk.

* * *

With nervousness in her chest, she finally found Punk sitting outside at a picnic table and reading what looked like a newspaper.

AJ inhaled deeply and stepped forward, walking towards him in a hesitant manner. It was one thing to be around him, exchanging banter in the ring, but a completely different thing to talk to him in person. And, really, the fact that her heart decided to speed up the minute she laid eyes on him was not helping matters at all.

As she approached him, he did not seem to even recognize her presence. She wondered idly what could be so interesting that he was absorbed completely in his reading, but -

"You require my services?" he asked, an amused lilt to his voice.

The suddenness of his question caused her to leap a bit, but she tried to gather herself together as quickly as possible, not wanting to seem like a little girl in his eyes.

"I was just coming here for some advice," she replied as if it were as simple as stating the color of the sky.

"Yeah?" This caused him to put the newspaper down on the picnic table. He was currently sitting on the table itself, using the bench below as a prop for his feet. He looked down at her, reminding her oddly of an eagle on a perch. "With what? _Boys_?"

AJ wrinkled her nose at him, wanting to punch him just a little bit. "No," she said, hating that it sounded less biting than she had intended. "I just wanted some help with this." She presented him the book.

He quirked an eyebrow at her, but took it nonetheless. He flipped through a few pages, scoffed, and then tossed the book in the grass.

"Hey! That's Rosa's!"

Punk rolled his eyes and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You want a tattoo?"

"Yes," she said, knitting her eyebrows together. "That is what the book is for."

"And you want my advice on this?"

"Yes. That is why I'm here."

"All those suck."

"Yes. That is - wait! No, they don't!"

Punk ran his tongue over his lip ring, an action that never failed to make AJ all...squirmy. "Frankly, my dear, they _do_."

"And you say this because..." AJ moved her hands as she spoke, as if to make Punk hurry up with his point already.

"Okay," Punk began, hopping down from his seat and landing directly in front of the fallen tattoo book. He picked it up and flipped it open to a random page. "See this?" He pointed to a tribal design meant to cover someone's arm from the shoulder to the wrist. "Not original. My belief is that a tattoo needs to have some meaning. _This_? This is just shit frat boys do to look cool. They can't say they were actually in a _tribe_."

"...I didn't like that one, anyway," AJ pointed out timidly.

"Then there is hope for you yet," he said, grinning.

AJ found herself smiling back. She couldn't help it; something about his smile was _that _contagious.

"What do you like?"

This caused her smile to twist into an expression of confusion. "Erm...what - "

Punk raised his sleeve. "Wanna know why I got this?" He pointed to the Pepsi symbol etched into his skin.

"You...like Pepsi?"

"Exactly," he said. "Which is why I'm asking you what you like."

"Um," AJ muttered. She wasn't actually sure. Several things came to mind. "Video games...comics...birds..."

Punk stopped her there. "Birds?"

"Yeah," she said, suddenly feeling defensive. "You gotta problem with birds?"

"Not at all," he said, raising his hands as if in surrender. "Just...random, when compared with your first two answers."

She cocked her head to the side. "Yeah...yeah...guess you're right."

A slight smile crossed her face. A bird...that would be really nice. They were one of her favorite animals, after all, and everything just clicked into place as she thought about it. AJ rather liked the idea of a picture of a bird being permanently inked into her skin, elegant and something that she really liked. It wasn't like the tribal tattoos Punk so detested, or anything that didn't have meaning. All of the tattoos in the book were nice, but...they weren't her. They weren't things she liked - though, she had to admit, some of the skulls looked pretty cool.

AJ turned and met Punk's eyes, feeling a slight manic happiness come into her eyes. "Thanks! You've been a huge help!"

"Aw, hell," Punk sighed, running a hand over his slicked back hair. "Please tell me you're not getting a tattoo of Big Bird."

Laughing, AJ ran away from him, eager to get in her car and head over to the tattoo parlor she had her eye on. "You'll have to wait and see!"

* * *

The next day, AJ arrived at the venue for that Monday's Raw with a grin on her face and a bandage on her neck, cleverly hidden by her mane of hair. She said hello to everyone that crossed her path, eager and happy to start the show, though it didn't begin for a few hours.

As if the universe were reading her thoughts, Punk suddenly stepped out of the locker room, wearing a hoodie along with his ring gear. Saved her the time of seeking him out. "Punk!" she called, waving a hand.

He turned to look at her, a friendly (now that was new) grin crossing his face, and he waved lightly in greeting.

AJ pranced up to him, beaming. "Wanna see my tattoo?"

"Please tell me that's not a cheap line to - "

Before Punk could complete his sentence, AJ spun around, lifting her hair out of the way in the process, revealing the bandage that covered the majority of her neck. "Look!"

"All right, all right," he said, brushing away a few strands of stray hair and then gently peeling back the bandage. She knew what he would see - a white bird, wings spread in flight, pictured as if someone had taken a picture standing in the sky above it. Lightly, a finger brushed against the slightly red and irritated area around the border of the tattoo. She felt his exhalation of breath as he said, "Nice tat."

AJ felt her cheeks heat slightly as he smoothed the bandage lightly over the expanse of skin it once covered. He grasped her hair and let it fall back down her back, while she turned to face him, stunned.

"Next time, though, you better invite me to come with," he said, stepping away, smirking, and breaking the moment.

Breathless, all AJ could do in response was nod and watch him walk away.

* * *

_**End.**_


End file.
